A combination of accessible seaports, historic sites and scenic beauty has attracted visitors and residents to coastal North Carolina and South Carolina for centuries, giving it a larger role in history and pop culture than sheer size would indicate.
To name just a few examples, Wilmington’s Fort Fisher was so important to the end of the Civil War that it has a cameo in the current movie Lincoln; the Wright Brothers launched their first airplane from Kitty Hawk; “shag”-style swing dancing was popularized in Myrtle Beach; and novelists Nicholas Sparks and Pat Conroy have placed several of their works in New Bern and Charleston, respectively.
Several small but well-equipped cities dot this area, rounding out the picture of a region that planners should consider for events.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Myrtle Beach
Myrtle Beach is the business and entertainment heart of a 60-mile stretch of shoreline now known as the Grand Strand.
“Myrtle Beach is in the very center of that—the more commercialized, populated areas, the hotels—and then as you go in both directions you go through smaller townships that are maybe a little more quaint,” says Danna Lilly, director of sales at the Myrtle Beach Area CVB. “On the far end we’re bookended by two fishing villages, Little River and Murrells Inlet, with the fishing docks and shrimp boats [and] a really laid-back, rustic Low Country atmosphere.”
Myrtle Beach’s boardwalk was completely rebuilt in 2010, and its historic amusement park is now flanked by increasingly upscale restaurants and shopping.
The area’s business side is reflected in the Myrtle Beach Convention Center and in the dozens of hotels that offer meeting space, ranging from the Monterey Bay Suites’ modest 200 square feet to the Sheraton Myrtle Beach Convention Center Hotel’s 250,000 square feet. Other than the Sheraton, top meetings properties include the Myrtle Beach Marriott Resort at Grande Dunes; Marina Inn at Grande Dunes; Kingston Plantation, encompassing Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort, the Embassy Suites Myrtle Beach and a conference center; Bay Watch Resort and Conference Center; Grande Shores Ocean Resort; and Crown Reef Resort at South Beach.
Meanwhile, in April, Myrtle Beach International Airport will open a new passenger terminal, which will nearly double the airport’s number of gates. PageBreak
Charleston and the Resort Islands
Although it’s now a prosperous, modern, midsize city, Charleston’s heart is a downtown historic district that has been rebuilt twice following the Civil War and an earthquake in 1886. As a result, it contains some of the purest examples of the then-popular Venetian architectural style, and today, the decorative ironwork, Caribbean colors, palm trees and beautiful gardens of Charleston homes is intoxicating.
Visitors can take the ferry to Fort Sumter National Monument, tour the still-working Boone Hall Plantation, visit the aircraft carrier Yorktown, or take in some history and culture at the Charleston Museum. Also, since this was once pirate country, visitors may enjoy a Charleston Pirate Tour narrated by Charleston expert Eric “Blackbeard” Lavender, who walks visitors around downtown in period costume.
The Charleston Convention Center in North Charleston is the area’s largest meetings venue and is adjacent to the North Charleston Coliseum and the Charleston Performing Arts Center. Top meetings properties include the Charleston Marriott, Doubletree Guest Suites Charleston–Historic District, Charleston Place Hotel and Francis Marion Hotel.
In January, the former Best Western Plus downtown will reopen as the Holiday Inn Express Charleston Ashley River following a multimillion-dollar renovation, but new construction is the big story on the Charleston peninsula. Projects currently under under way include the 120-room Holiday Inn Charleston Historic Downtown, which will open this month, and a 141-room Hilton Garden Inn along the Ashley River.
In addition, Charleston’s reputation as one of the nation’s premier destinations is driving plans that may result in roughly 1,100 additional guest rooms, according to Perrin Lawson, deputy director of the Charleston CVB.
“While the entire Charleston area weathered the economic downturn relatively well, hotel occupancy in downtown Charleston remained particularly strong,” Lawson says. “This has further heightened interest in hotel development on the Charleston peninsula.”
Nearby resort locales such as Kiawah Island, Seabrook Island and Isle of Palms feature waterfront meetings properties and world-class golf.
Hilton Head Island
Hilton Head Island and neighboring Bluffton enjoy surpluses of everything you’d expect in a coastal resort destination: golf courses, shopping centers and wide beaches where visitors can see dolphins frequently swimming past.
Planners will welcome news of a wave of renovations at the area’s hotels. The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa is gunning for a AAA Five Diamond rating with a $35 million phased renovation, while the Omni Hilton Head Oceanfront Resort and Sonesta Resort Hilton Head Island are pouring $20 million and $30 million, respectively, into enhancements at their properties. Meanwhile, the Inn at Harbour Town completed a major renovation 18 months ago, the Holiday Inn has become The Beach House, a Holiday Inn Resort (with accompanying upgrades), and the Inn at Palmetto Bluff is upgrading its 50 cottages over the winter.
All of the island’s main properties are redoing or have redone their meeting space, says Jack Reed, director of sales at the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton COC and VCB.
“They’re listening to the traveler and have taken into consideration what the traveler is looking for—the design elements, changes to the common areas, the [new] cafes, the general market-type feel,” he says.
One of the island’s newest attractions is ZipLine Hilton Head, which allows groups to soar above scenic, wildlife-filled Broad Creek. Two-and-a-half-hour tours teach visitors about the local ecosystem and pose team leadership challenges. PageBreak
NORTH CAROLINA
Outer Banks
The Outer Banks is a series of narrow barrier islands that protect the coastal Carolinas, and several towns are set along this picturesque stretch.
Kill Devil Hills is where the Wright Brothers first flew, and thousands of aviation buffs visit the historic monument and museum here annually. Visitors can also take in the Elizabethan Gardens in Manteo, visit the northernmost branch of the North Carolina Aquarium, climb the 200-foot Cape Hatteras lighthouse or tour the area’s newest attraction, Island Farm, which re-creates a Civil War-era farm-family homestead.
The area’s hotel inventory consists of about 3,000 guest rooms, and properties such as the new Hilton Garden Inn of Kitty Hawk can host up to 250 for meetings. The meeting-friendly, four-star Sanderling Resort and Spa in Duck is currently closed for renovations but will reopen in spring 2013.
Crystal Coast
The Crystal Coast gets its name from the clear water that results from its south-facing beaches—a rare phenomenon in the turbid Atlantic.
The ocean’s endless dynamism is the main attraction here, and it’s no surprise that this area is one of the top American scuba-diving destinations. Wind and tides constantly rearrange the ocean floor, covering some shipwrecks while revealing others—such as Blackbeard’s flagship, says Carol Lohr, executive director of the Crystal Coast Tourism Authority.
“Hurricane Floyd uncovered the Queen Anne’s Revenge, a [famed pirate] wreck that had been there since the 1700s but only in 20 feet of water,” she says. “There are lots of shifting sands out there!”
The Sheraton hotel in Morehead City, a mainstay of local meetings business, remains shuttered since 2011’s Hurricane Irene and is expected to be auctioned soon, Lohr says.
“The damage was not as bad as originally thought, but it’ll take a couple million dollars to get it presentable at least,” she says. “[Meanwhile] we’ve got a small civic center located on the community college campus.”
Visitors can also enjoy harbor cruises that are sheltered by the barrier islands or climb the Cape Lookout Lighthouse from May to September. In addition, Fort Macon State Park performs Civil War reenactments throughout the year. PageBreak
New Bern and Craven County
Founded in 1710 at the confluence of the Trent and Neuse rivers, New Bern was North Carolina’s original state capital, and its architecture dates to the 17th century.
The New Bern Riverfront Convention Center is the city’s largest conference facility and is located in an attractive and compact part of downtown, says Mary Harris, director of the Craven County CVB.
“There are two or three wonderful hotels beside us and some outlying hotels as well,” Harris says. “We’re walkable, you can leave your car in the hotel parking lot and shop, dine, eat and have a great time.”
The DoubleTree New Bern-Riverfront Hotel has its own conference center, and other meetings-friendly venues include the Havelock Tourist & Event Center, the historic Sudan Temple and the Flame Restaurant & Banquet Centre. The Best Western Plus Riverside Inn & Suites opened here a year ago, and the Comfort Suites Riverfront Park will soon change to the Marriott flag.
New Bern’s most famous site is Tryon Palace, a Georgian-style mansion from 1770 that is surrounded by 16 acres of gardens and has served as North Carolina’s state capitol. Today, it hosts the new North Carolina History Center, featuring the Pepsi Family Center, which recreates life in a riverside North Carolina city circa 1835, and the Regional History Museum, which draws a larger picture of the region’s geography, climate, ecosystems and settlement patterns.
Visitors can also take a walking tour to places that novelist Nicholas Sparks described in The Notebook and Message in a Bottle.
Wilmington and the Beaches
The Wilmington-area CVB has rebranded from its former “Cape Fear Coast” messaging to become the Wilmington and Beaches CVB, says John Sneed, director of convention sales.
“Cape Fear is not a region—you can’t go online and find it,” he says. “What resonated most [with focus groups] was Wilmington and the North Carolina beaches.”
Wilmington continues, of course, to be flanked by the natural beauty of the Cape Fear River and by barrier islands featuring towns such as Carolina Beach, Wrightsville Beach and Kure Beach, the latter of which hosts a branch of the North Carolina Aquariums. Wilmington continues its rapid population growth while retaining a charming downtown that offers shops, restaurants and the chance to tour the battleship USS North Carolina.
Meanwhile, the beach towns offer numerous opportunities for swimming, shopping, biking, boating the Intracoastal Waterway or simply strolling along a boardwalk.
Meetings-friendly properties include the Beau Rivage Golf & Resort, Blockade Runner Resort, Courtyard by Marriott Carolina Beach, Hilton Wilmington Riverside, Holiday Inn Wilmington and Ramada Conference Center.
Early this year, construction will begin on an Embassy Suites attached to the Wilmington Convention Center, adding to an inventory that will also include a new Courtyard by Marriott in mid-2013.
Paul D. Kretkowski writes frequently about travel, food and sports. He is also the founder of Beacon, a blog about foreign policy.
